DC Prime: Batman
by DC Prime Universe
Summary: Part of the DC Prime Universe: With a year of experience under his belt. A younger and brasher Batman has pushed the mob to the breaking point with the help of allies such as Jim Gordon and D.A. Harvey Dent. But a new group calling themselves "The Sons of Batman" has appeared, and their actions will attract some of the DC Universes deadliest killers to Gotham City.
1. The Sons of Batman Part 1

**BATMAN #1**

**The Sons of Batman Part 1**

**By Ivan Krolo (ekrolo2)**

Lieutenant James Gordon and Sergeant Harvey Bullock sat silently in his car as they observed the entrance to a liquor store on the opposite end of the street. They were waiting for Saul Falcone, nephew of the infamous Carmine Falcone to come out and hopefully lead him to a warehouse where a rumored shipment of weaponry was due to arrive that very same night. Bullock sighed and pulled his lighter and a cigar which he intended to light until Jim reached out towards his face and plucked it out of his mouth.

Bullock (whisper & angry): Hey! What's the big idea?!

Jim (whisper & annoyed): Are you crazy? Were trying to keep a low profile here and you wanna light a cigar? The point of tailing some one is to make sure he doesn't notice you following him.

He gave the cigar back to Harvey who promptly placed it into his pocket for later.

Bullock (whisper & annoyed): Geez sorry for making an honest mistake, it's just that we've been sitting here, in the dark, for an hour now, and this bozo still ain't come out, (curious) you even sure he's in there?

Jim (whisper & calm): Positive, according to my sources he goes here every Wednesday to play some poker with a few buddies of his, after a couple of hours he leaves then goes on to do a job for his uncle like the good dog that he is.

Bullock (whisper & calm): I hope your "sources" are right Jimbo cause id hate to spend my one night off staring at a cheap ass liquor store, what's so special about this shipment anyhow?

Jim (whisper & calm): Apparently this isn't just a regular shipment of guns and ammunition, word on the street is that Falcone ordered a batch of something called "Venom" from a small island country known as Santa Prisca. This drug is rumored give the person taking it inhuman speed, strength and endurance and Falcone wants it so his boy can take out the Batman. If we can get our hands on some evidence like a photo of Carl getting it or a sample we can get it to

Dent and hopefully start locking these sons of bitches up.

Bullock (whisper & pleased): Falcone is probably losing it if he's ordering some fancy, schmancy drug to fight a psycho in a bat costume.

Jim (whisper & calm): Ironically that "psycho" is getting more done than the entire police force in this whole city. I swear it feels like every cop in this town is either crooked or too much of a coward to do anything about well… anything, hell you're the only guy I could convince to help me out on this.

Bullock (whisper & pleased): Well Jimbo you did save my ass in that gun fight a few weeks back so I owe ya one.

Their conversation ended when Carl Falcone finally exited the liquor store, got into his car and drove off to the shipment site, Gordon turned on his car, and the two followed him through the desolate streets of Gotham.

The drive was a short and uneventful one; Carl seemed oblivious to their presence and drove normally towards the Gotham Docks, a large dilapidated series of ware houses that were barely standing much like the rest of Gotham.

Carl Falcone continued to drive down the dock passing several seemingly abandoned ware houses until he finally stopped and parked his car next to one at the very end of the docks. Jim and Bullock parked about 40 feet away from it, got out of the car and slowly moved in closer to find a possible entry point.

Darkness shrouded most of the docks but, the warehouse where the shipment arrived was lit up like a Christmas tree, illuminating the surrounding area and giving the two officers a chance to see what they were up against. The place had at least a dozen guards armed with M-16 assault rifles protecting it.

Bullock (whisper): Yo Jimbo, look over there.

He tapped on Jim's shoulder and pointed towards a series of metal containers and crates lined up next to the side of the ware house.

Bullock (whisper): You see those crates? If we can sneak past those bozos we might have a shot of getting on the roof and hopefully getting a nice bird's eye view of the place.

Jim (whisper): It could work, but we won't be able to sneak past those guards, were gonna have to lure them away if this is gonna work.

Bullock (whisper & cocky): Shouldn't be a problem, they're cut off from the others so if we can take out silently the others probably won't notice.

Jim (whisper): Alright then, ill go draw their attention, you try to get behind them and were gonna take them all out at once.

Jim slowly walked up to the warehouse, the shadows that protected him gave away to the light illuminating from the building and with it revealed his position to the guards.

Guard (angry & suspicious): You there! (He pointed his gun at Jim and walked up to him slowly with his two friends guarding his back). What the hell do you think you're doing here?

Jim (annoyed): Geez can't a guy just take a nice stroll without some asshole punks pointing their guns at him in this town?

The three guards were now standing only a few feet away from Jim, the one who called out to him was the closest while the other two stayed farther away.

Guard (mad): Say that again?

Jim (mad): You heard me you little asshole, now how about you take that gun and shove it where the sun don't shine.

The guard snarled at Jim and moved in closer placing the barrel of his gun a few inches away from his face, at that moment Jim noticed Bullock was now standing in between the other two with a rock in his hand hovering over one of them.

He took a quick glance at Jim who nodded his head and without a moment's hesitation brought the rock down on the guards head, knocking him out, his partner managed to see him go down but not fast enough to stop Bullock from pouncing on him and punching him across the face. The last guard turned around and saw his partners unconscious with an angry Bullock standing before him.

Guard (angry): You son of a bitch I'm gon-

Jim (cold): You won't be doing anything for a while.

Jim placed both his arms around the man's neck and caught him in a headlock, he tried to escape but it was no use, the pressure applied from the headlock caused him to quickly lose consciousness and fall to the ground.

Bullock (pleased): That went well.

Jim (calm): Were not out of the woods yet, let's get these guys somewhere where their pals wont find them and take their guns, if we get spotted were gonna need them.

Bullock nodded and the two carried the three guards away from the warehouse and placed them in a nearby dumpster, the two officers put the assault rifles over their shoulders and proceeded to climb the warehouse until they reached a small window at its top.

The two looked through the window and saw a massive operation going on inside with dozens of crates of Venom and even more people running around placing the stuff inside large 18 wheeler trucks with Carl Falcone personally managing the entire thing. Jim opened the window and took his camera out.

Carl Falcone (yelling): Come on, hurry up will ya! The boss wants this stuff moved as fast as far away from here as humanly possible and I swear to God if the Bat gets here before that can happen because of you incompetent little shits ill make your lives a living hell so MOVE YOUR ASSES!

Jim (whisper & sarcastic): Charming.

He filmed the entire operation as it went down, from Falcone screaming his lugs out at his men, to close up footage of the Venom itself as well as the trucks from Ace Chemicals being used to distribute it. After about 15 minutes of filming Jim finally stopped and placed it back in his pocket.

Jim (whisper & pleased): We got him; we finally got one of these sons of bitches.

Bullock (whisper & anxious): Yeah, yeah save the celebration for later, now we gotta-

Several loud screams were heard coming from inside the building, the two turned their attention to what was going on and they saw several, men on the ground with large, crude bat shaped shuriken embedded into their limbs and backs. Jim immediately pulled out his camera and started filming the ordeal.

Carl Falcone (angry & yelling): You think you're some badass don't ya Batman? How about you stop being such a pussy and show yourself already?!

The only response Carl received was batarang that clashed his hand causing him to drop his gun, he clenched his bleeding hand and looked around frantically and noticed his men were dropping like flies.

As Jim watched the ordeal go down, he realized this could not be Batman. He had seen pieces of the Batman's equipment before, those shuriken were black and perfectly crafted but these were crude and silver. He also saw several figures attacking those men from the shadows all at once all of whom wore crude make shift Batman costumes.

He tried to run out of the warehouse ignoring his injured men who were lying on the floor but he found himself unable to when, one of the Batmen pounced on him and started punching him repeatedly with brass knuckles. This went on for only a few seconds but for Falcone it seemed like an eternity as each punch felt like it was going to crack his skull.

? (Yelling & commanding): That's enough J! We don't kill remember?

J (annoyed): Yeah…. I remember…..

He climbed off Carl and meet up with the rest of his team in the center of the ware house. Upon seeing those in a bright light Jim's eyes widened as he realized these were nothing more than teenager boys or young adults posing as the infamous vigilante. He continued to film until he heard turned his head to the right and noticed Harvey was gone.

Jim (afraid & whisper): Harvey?! Where are you?

? (Cold & whisper): Don't worry; you'll be seeing him real soon.

Jim spun around and caught a glimpse of one of the boys posing as Batman before the kicked him across the face, knocking him out cold.

**To be continued in Batman #2! So stay tuned!**


	2. The Sons of Batman Part 2

**BATMAN #2**

**The Sons of Batman Part 2**

**By Ivan Krolo**

Alfred J. Pennyworth, the aging and loyal butler to the Wayne family made his way through the massive complex that was the Wayne Manor with a tray of food in his hand which he carried to his sleeping master.

It had been three days, and three nights since Bruce collapsed in the Batcave due to a serious lack of sleep and Alfred didn't dare to try to awake him since then knowing how obsessed the young man had quickly become with his nightly activities as "The Batman".

As he made his way to the room, Alfred recalled the day Bruce told him of whom and what he wanted to become once they returned to Gotham after spending many years abroad.

…..

8 Months Ago, Wayne Manor, 3AM

Alfred (nervous): Master Bruce, why on Earth have you brought me to this godforsaken place?

The two stood on a large cliff in a cave located beneath Wayne Manor. It was cold, dark and foreboding place that seemingly went on for miles and miles with underground rivers running all over the place. But what made the cave an unwelcoming place was not the cold temperature or the lack of any light, no; it was the massive swarm of bats that inhabited it.

They slept on the ceiling of the cave, blending in perfectly with the darkness so much so you wouldn't be able to distinguish them from the rock were it not for their eyes. The former MI6 had several experiences with the creatures and knew full well the light was responsible for this, but even so as having hundreds of small, blood-red eyes staring at you from above instilled fear into him.

His gaze left the creatures and was now on the 24-year-old heir to the Wayne legacy who was also observing the creatures above him. But while Alfred hated this place and wanted to leave it, Bruce looked like he enjoyed being here as a smile was ever-present on his face, as if he was genuinely happy for the first time in years.

After the deaths of his parents Bruce rarely smiled and even when he did, he never had this satisfied look on his face like he had on at that very moment.

Alfred (curious): Are you alright Master Bruce?

Bruce (smiling & happy): For the first time in a long time Alfred, I feel great.

The Wayne heir turned his back on the butler and walked up to the edge of the cliff and looked out at the sight before him.

Bruce (curious): Tell me some thing Alfred; do you remember the vow I made the night my parents died?

Alfred (nervous): I do indeed sir….

Bruce (serious): Good, because this cave is where I start making my promise a reality.

Alfred (curious): What do you mean sir?

Bruce (serious): All these years I've traveled the world and prepared myself in every possible way so I can avenge the deaths of my parents, but up until recently it never occurred to me that I missed one crucial piece of the puzzle to make my dream a reality.

Alfred (curious): And that would be…?

Bruce (serious): A symbol. Ras may have deceived me, but he did give me one good piece of advice. He told me that as a man I cannot carry out my mission, but if I make myself into some thing more than just a man, something greater that cannot be stopped by any mere mortal I will be invincible. In order to do that I need a symbol to transform myself into, and I think I've found it at last.

At that moment a single Bat flew away from the swarm that nestled at the cave ceiling and landed on top of a spike like rock in front of Bruce and stared intently at him with an occasional snarl coming out of its fanged mouth. Bruce starred intensely into the creature and smirked as he starred into its blood-red eyes.

Bruce (smiling): Yes father, I shall become a Bat.

…

The older gentlemen sighed as he opened the door to his master's room; Bruce was still sleeping soundly in his large bed with the entire room shrouded in darkness due to the drapes blocking out the sun light. Alfred placed the tray of food on a night stand and started pulling the drapes apart illuminating the entire room.

Bruce who was facing the drapes as he slept let out a long moan and covered his head with his pillow to block out the sunlight.

Bruce (tired): Alfred… What are yo-

Alfred (nonchalant): What does it look like Im doing? You've been asleep for the past three days and-

He stopped mid sentence when Bruce swiftly removed the pillow from his head and look at the butler in shock.

Bruce (shocked): Did you just say I've been asleep for 3 days?!

Alfred (nonchalant): Indeed sir, after you collapsed in the blasted cave of yours I thought it would do you some good to get some genuine sleep for a change and allow you to rest.

Bruce (angry): Of all the… (He let out a sigh and quickly calmed himself down), (calm): At least tell me nothing happened while I slept.

Alfred (formal): For the most part nothing happened. Except perhaps a large shipment of weapons belonging to the Falcones reportedly being attacked and destroyed by a group of men dressing up like The Batman. Before you go back to that infernal cave of yours, you will eat your soup, get dressed and then you can spend as much time down there as you please.

Bruce sighed as Alfred left the room closing the door behind him, the young man complied and hesitantly began eating the soup while watching Gotham City in the distance.

Bruce (thoughts): Another case of some group copying me, I need to talk to Gordon about ending this and quickly before these fools get themselves killed.

…..

Gordon sat at his desk finishing the paper work concerning the recent attack on the Falcone shipment warehouse and the "Batmen" responsible for it. He gently rubbed the left side of his face to ease the pain from the kick he had received the, night before but it was pointless.

It didn't help that Loeb almost chewed his head off for going behind his back and trying to lead an operation without his consent. Gordon hated the fact he needed to obey a fat little bastard like him but he couldn't do anything about it, at least not yet anyway. The only thing that made him feel better was the fact the footage he filmed somehow managed to get back to

Harvey Dent though the parts containing the "Batmen" was absent.

Just as he, finished the last bit of paperwork about last nights incident his phone started vibrating, he took a quick look to see who it was and smirked as he answered the call.

Jim (curious): Hello?

?: Roof. 2 minutes.

He immediately hung up on him.

Jim placed the phone in his pocket and exited his office, locking it up for the night. He made his up the staircase leading to the roof and checked behind him to make sure no one was following him. Closing the door behind him, he took out a cigar out of his pocket and lit it and as he waited for his friend to arrive.

He stood in the middle of the roof looking around to see where he would come from this time, when he turned around he saw him standing near the edge of the roof, like in every one of their previous encounters he kept his distance and only allowed the light to illuminate his feet. The rest of his body was completely shrouded in darkness with only his white, pupil less eyes piercing the darkness.

Jim (joking): Is all this theatricality really necessary?

Batman (serious & curious): What happened at the warehouse Jim?

Jim sighed as he took the cigar out of his hand, pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at the masked man in front of him as he began explaining all that happened.

…..

Carl Falcone drove to his apartment located near the center of Park Row after spending the last couple of days in prison. Usually if there was any cop with the balls to apprehend him he would be out before any trial could begin, but this time things got complicated when the District Attorney himself presented evidence that placed him smack dab in the middle of a recent and major crime investigation.

This time he had to pay a sizable sum of money to pay off the right people to get off the hook, but the fact the cops actually got close to putting him behind bars angered him and his uncle Carmine quite a bit. He sighed as he tried to stop thinking about and arrive at the entrance to his apartment building little did he know a pair of eyes watched him from afar.

Standing on a rooftop opposite of Carl Falcones appartment, one of the members belonging to the group that gave him and his men quite a beating was chosen to keep track of the man ever since they learned he managed to evade the law once again.

CT (radio): Status report B.

B (casual): Nothing, new to report really, the target just got back to his home, and it looks like he's hitting the bottle pretty hard tonight.

CT (radio): Good, let him drink to his heart's content then we begin the interrogation process. Not taking him in and letting Dent take care of the legal part was a mistake we will not repeat again. This time we take matters into our own hands.

B (annoyed): Good to hear, because I'm getting real sick and tired of all this bull-ugh!

? : Thwack.

He grunted in pain as some one came up behind him and delivered a powerful round house kick to his back which almost sent him flying off the roof. B managed to keep his himself from plummeting to his death and rolled to the side to face his attacker.

B looked at the man as he entered the fighting stance J and D taught him, the man wore an outfit which consisted of black gloves, pants, and shirt, with a long black trench coat and a full, black hood decorated by concentric white circles. The assailant slowly turned to face the boy; he placed his palm over his knuckle letting cracking sound come out of them.

?: Crack.

B (thoughts): Is he… Saying sounds out loud?

B pulled out three make shift batarangs out of his belt and threw them at his enemy, the masked man pulled out a large knife from his coat and effortlessly blocked all of the projectiles.

?: Clank. Clank. Clank.

The boy stood there, dumbfounded which worked for his enemy who immediately upon blocking the batarangscharged at the boy with his knife drawn, B found himself caught off guard by the mans sheer speed as he was unable to avoid his blade as it made a horizontal slash across his chest and punched him in the gut.

?: Slash. Pow.

B clenched his stomach as the punch was strong enough to make him almost throw up, he decided to ignore the pain and go on the offensive, he drew two more batarangs out of his belt but instead of throwing them he held them in both his hands as if they were double-bladed knives.

The two began exchanging blows with their respective bladed weapons as the assailant continued to mimicking the sounds of them clashing. B managed to jump into the air and deliver a kick to masked mans face sending him falling to the ground, B took the opportunity and threw one of his batarangs into the mans shoulder with another going through his knee.

The masked man clenched both his shoulder and knee in pain as he tried to rip the blades out but B was faster as he jumped on top of the man and began punching him continuously until he stopped moving. B was panting heavily now, as the adrenaline wore off the exhaustion started to kick in as well as the pain from his chest wound.

He got off the masked man and walked away from his unconscious body to contact HQ.

CT (radio & alarmed): B?! What the hell happened?!

B (panting & tired): Some crazy guy…. With a mask and a knife attacked me…. But I managed to beat him….

CT (radio & curious): Are you alright?

B: (panting & tired): I took a good beating from him…. He even cut me with his knife… But I should b-AAAAHHH!

He screamed as he felt a terrible pain around his stomach area, he looked down and saw the masked mans knife sticking out of it with his blood dripping to the ground. B slowly turned around and his eyes widened as he saw the masked man slowly get off the ground like a horror movie villain and pulled out the two batarangs from his body, he tossed them away and charged at B as if his body was perfectly fine.

?: Thwack.

The masked man said it just as he gave B a powerful uppercut breaking the boy's nose, B tried to fight back by throwing a punch of his own but the masked man grabbed hold of his arm, spun around and began twisting it ever so slowly.

?: Crack.

B screamed in agony as he heard the bones in his arm give away leaving it completely useless, the boy's body felt heavy and pain made it very hard to concentrate. All he could do was slowly back away from the masked man but as he turned his back his adversary took the knife gripe, grabbed B by the neck and started to slowly twist the blade in the boys stomach.

?: Twist.

B again screamed in pain as he felt the blade literally tear his insides apart, the masked man pulled the blade out, spun B around and delivered one last punch to his face, sending him plummeting helplessly to the ground.

CT (radio & yelling): B?! B! ANSWER ME GODDAMN IT! B?!

The masked man noticed the device on the ground but before he could make a grab for it, B used the last of his strength to toss a batarang at it, destroying the device and the masked mans only way of tracking his friends. The masked man turned to the boy and knelt next to him as he grabbed him by his hair and positioned his knife mere inches from his throat.

B (tired): Wh-Who… Who are you….?

?: Snikt.

The masked man slowly drove the knife into the boy's throat, he wanted to him to feel every single agonizing moment of it before he died, the knife cutting into him, the feeling of choking on his own blood and finally the knowledge that all his friends would soon suffer a similar fate. After the boy finally stopped moving, the masked man pulled out the knife and answered the boy's question.

?: Onomatopoeia.

**Before you ask me I will tell you yes, Onomatopoeia sounds like a monotone Kevin Smith.**

**To be continued...**


	3. The Sons of Batman Part 3

**Batman #3**

**The Sons of Batman Part 3**

**By Ivan Krolo**

Jim (serious): After the kids knocked us out, me and Bullock both woke up when the rest of the force came in to investigate what happened. With my footage gone at first Loeb didn't believe a word of it but then Harvey Dent called and told us he got his hands on it but the "Batmen" parts were conveniently cut out.

Batman (stern): We need to find this group and shut them down now Jim. Even with all their training and skill, it's only a matter of time before the mob finds and kills them all for interfering in their business.

Jim exhaled the last bit of smoke from his cigars as he took the stump out of his mouth and crushed it with his shoe.

Jim (serious): I agree, but the problem is we have nothing to go on here. These kids are pretty damn thorough and they make sure to never leave any evidence be-

Radio (alarmed): All available officers respond! A boy wearing a Batman costume has been found dead near central Park Row, all available officers are to meet there immediately!

Jim's eyes widened in shock when he heard this, he turned his head to where Batman was standing and noticed the vigilante was already on his way there. The police lieutenant sighed at this wishing his unofficial "partner" would stop doing this as he made his way to his car at the police stations entrance.

**…**

Jim was among the last to arrive at the scene as half a dozen police cars were already parked, and a perimeter and they were already forming a perimeter to keep the civilians away the crime scene. Knowing he couldn't get past the dozens of people around the crime scene. Jim decided to leave his car and push through them on foot.

Ultimately this was the smart choice as he was able to reach the perimeter within minutes. Although he would later regret being so quick to arrive as he was not ready for the sight before him. A teenage boy, no older than his own daughter Barbara hanged a few feet away from him with a noose around his neck. His battered and bloody corpse simply left there for all of Gotham to see.

He watched with a heavy heart as his body was slowly lowered to the ground and slowly placed in a body bag. The already terrible situation only became worse once a crying, middle-aged woman breached the perimeter and running towards her son's body which was now half covered by the body bag.

She stopped dead in her tracks and fell to her knees as she looked at her dead son with tears falling down her eyes. She placed her hand on her son's cheek and broke down crying even worse than before. Jim immediately went to her and moved her away knowing the other, not so righteous officers of the force wouldn't think twice about getting violent with her for disobeying them.

She struggled off course as Jim pulled her away, and the two watched the paramedics take the boy's body to the morgue. The mother only struggled harder to break free of his grasp prompting Jim to whisper in her ear.

Jim (whisper & respectful): I know this is a very difficult situation for you miss but I have to ask you to calm down, and I swear ill personally take you to see your son right away.

The woman looked at the Lieutenant and realized her struggling would only prompt the other officers to get violent. It was a fairly common occurrence for the "finest of Gotham" to get violent with the very people they had sworn to protect, even their mourning loved ones.

She nodded at Jim and followed him back to his car as they went through the group of people gathered around. As they reached his car, Jim opened the door, and the mother silently sat in the back seat. Just as he was about to enter the car his cell phone rang, and he saw it was his "partner" calling him.

Jim (troubled & curious): Are you seeing this?

Batman (serious): Yes I am. Talk to the mother at the station while I examine at the boy's body in the morgue.

Jim (troubled & angry): You let me know the second you find a clue about who did this you hear me?!

Batman (sincere): I will Jim, and I promise you, (threatening) the person responsible is going to pay dearly for this.

**…**

Jim and the mother made their way to his office while everyone else was too busy to even acknowledge them. Upon reaching the office, Jim opened it for her and gestured toward the seat standing opposite of this desk.

Jim (respectful): Please take a seat miss, and I'll be in shortly. I just need to make a call about your son's case.

Mother (angry & hurt): You said wed go see my Bobby if I went with you.

Jim (sorry): I know, but the doctors are currently performing their autopsy to find the cause of death, and I'm afraid you won't be able to see him until it's complete. So please, just take a seat in my office and then the two of us can start figuring things out ok?

The mother nodded and quietly entered the office with Jim closing the door behind her. He then took out his cell phone and called his partner.

Jim (curious): Have you gotten a chance to take a look at the body.

Batman (serious): Not yet. Your people are still performing the autopsy as we speak. Once they leave I can take a closer look at the body.

Jim (curious): What's the point of you checking it out if a team of experts is gonna do it anyway?

Batman (serious): Your experts don't have access to my resources and to my vast criminal data base both of which could be vital for this case if he's involved in this some how.

Jim (curious & annoyed): You mind telling me who he is exactly?

Batman (serious): There's no point in me bringing him up if he's not involved. If it turns out he is then I'll fill you in as soon as I can. In the mean time Jim you should question the mother to see if she has any possible information on this group of "Batmen" he ran around with.

Before Jim could say anything else Batman hanged up on him causing the Lieutenant to sigh in annoyance. He placed his phone back in his pocket and entered his office.

Jim (curious & respectful): Do you want some coffee miss…?

Diane (distant): Diane Larroca and no thank you.

Jim nodded and poured in a hot cup off coffee before he sat at his desk. He placed his jacket on the seat and turned it so he was facing Diane.

Jim (respectful): Miss Larroca, I cannot imagine what you're going through and as a father who's… Lost a child myself I understand where you're coming from. But to get to the bottom of this I'm going to need to ask you some questions (curious): is that alright?

Diane nodded.

Jim (curious): Now I'm going to need your son's name, a short background history and the names of his close friends who might know something.

Diane (distant): My Bobby was a good boy who never really got into trouble until recently. His school work was always great, he trained Judo but he never really had any friends until he got involved with some group of kinds a few weeks ago. At first I was happy he was making some friends but then he started coming back home with cuts and bruises which is why I forbid him from hanging out with them anymore. But I guess he didn't listen….

Jim (curious): Do you, by any chance, know the names of these kids he hanged out with?

Diane (distant): He never really told me what they're names were but one afternoon I overheard him talking on the phone with some one called Jason Todd. I think this Jason was in this gang with my Bobby… Can I…. Please go see him now?

Jim (respectful): Of course. The autopsy is probably done by now. I'll take you there if you'd like.

Diane (grateful & whisper): Thank you….

Jim smiled at Diane, and the two left the office as they made their way to the morgue, little did they know Jim's "partner" had been listening in on the entire conversation as he had bugged Jim's office weeks ago.

**….**

Batman stood over the body of Bobby Larroca in silence as he examined the various injuries and ran them through the computer built into his cowl. This computer gathered data from the white eye lenses located within the cowl and which allowed it to gather various pieces of information in real-time which could be served for combat, forensic and stealth purposes.

Batman (thoughts): Judging by these cuts the man who attacked him was using a knife and save for the stab would in the neck, none of them to kill him. The wound on the stomach however is different from the others. The slash on his chest and the one in his neck are clean and efficient while the one in the stomach looks mangled as if he twisted it inside the poor kid.

He turned his attention away from the slashes and stabs and began examining the bruises on his back, chest, face as well as the marks on his neck from the hanging.

Batman (thoughts): The boy suffered multiple punches and kicks to the chest and skull area. Unlike the cuts and stabs, the punches and kicks were specifically placed to wear him down and immobilize him. Who ever did this knows the human body well and has a level of strength comparable to mine own to cause injuries like these. By the looks of these injuries he's also a master of psychological warfare and possibly even a sadist.

His suspicions were slowly being confirmed as evidence started to pile up but the thing that sealed the deal was his neck. According to the computer the boy died well before the hanging happened. Only a select few highly specialized killer made a habit of displaying their opponents bodies after finishing them.

Batman (serious): Computer, take into account all the recently recorded evidence and formulate a M.O. from them. Then run it through the criminal database.

Computer: Complete. Data shows that the injuries and method of murder fit one Onomatopoeia. According to police files across the globe, Onomatopoeia has made a reputation as a higher mercenary and his preferred targets are non powered vigilantes. Reports also suggest he may have super human abilities though the validity of this cannot be confirmed at this time.

Batman (thoughts & worried): Then its as I feared. At least I have a lead with this Jason Todd kid Diane mentioned. I'll have to

He heard the doors in the hallway open behind him which prompted him to quickly place the boy's body back in its bag and into its refrigerated chamber. Sneaking back to the vent he used to get in he made it back in just in time before either Diane or Jim could notice him as they walked in. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he didn't need to. The image of Diane crying over her son's corpse told him all he needed to know.

**...**

Jason Todd walked up the fire escape to his apartment with a grocery bag in his hands. Usually he would go through the front entrance like anyone else but the land lord hadn't received last months rent from him or his sick mom. But the rent was the least of his problems after what happened to Bobby tonight.

The team had a meeting earlier discuss this tragedy with things getting very heated, especially between him and Dick. After a long argument they all decided to give themselves some space to cool off, but if anything suspicious happened every member was to contact mother base immediately.

He opened the window to his apartment and went inside, but lights were off making it difficult to see much of anything. Placing the groceries on the night stand he intended to keep the lights off not to risk the land lords wrath, but his heart skipped a beat when the lights turned on seemingly be themselves.

Jason (Shocked): What the hell?!

He then heard a couple of footsteps behind him and immediately turned around to face who ever it was but his eyes widened upon seeing his hero there standing before him with a grim expression on his face.

Batman (stern): You and I have business to discuss.

**To be continued...**


	4. The Sons of Batman Part 4

**BATMAN #4**

**The Sons of Batman Part 4**

**By Ivan Krolo**

Jim parked his car next to the entrances leading to Diane's four story apartment building located on the south end of Park Row. His grieving mother was sitting next to him. He looked at her with a worried expression on his face; she hadn't said a word since they left the morgue.

Jim (respectful & sincere): I know this might seem a bit strange of me, especially since we just met but here.

He handed her a piece of paper with his phone number on it.

Jim (respectful & sincere): If you ever need to talk. Just give me a ring alright?

She turned her head in his direction and smiled at him followed by a nod. Jim returned the gesture and watched as she entered her apartment building. Diane leaned against her door and sighed as she listened to Jim's car drive away.

Using the sleeve of her shirt she wiped her running nose and moved into the kitchen where her phone was. Diane moved through the kitchen as quiet as a mouse and when she reached the phone she began dialing her sisters' number. It was then that her phone stopped working.

Diane (annoyed & whisper): Goddamn it... Work you piece of...

She hit it with the back of her hand repeatedly to try to make it work but to no avail. This continued until Diane froze up. There was a low monotone voice coming from behind her.

Onomatopoeia: Thwack.

Diane noticed a knife on the counter just a few inches away from her hand and gulped just before she grabbed it, swiftly turned around and clumsily threw it at Onomatopoeia. The masked killer caught the handle of the blade mere inches away from his face.

Onomatopoeia: Swoosh.

Before Diane could even blink, he tossed the blade right back at her and drove it through her hand, pinning her to the wall. She screamed in pain with tears running down her face as she desperately tried to pull the blade out. Onomatopoeia placed his left hand on her mouth and put his army knife on her cheek.

Onomatopoeia: Ssssnnnniiiiiktttttt.

Slowly he made a small but deep cut on her cheek and smirked under his mask knowing full well the real fun was about to begin.

Dick climbed over a chain link fence and looked up at the old abandoned clock tower which he and his team used as their base of operations. While the tower had an official name Dick, as well as he team, referred to it as "The Owls Nest" due to the various large and foreboding owl statues situated on top of it.

He approached the tower carefully and turned his head several times in all directions to make sure no one was following him. Entering through a tight crack in the wall, he reached a metal ladder and climbed it all the way to the top.

As he reached it he noticed the gang was there; minus the recently deceased Bobby. Barbara Gordon, age 15 same as him, sat at her desk surrounded by her gadgets and computers with her glasses on as usual. She had her red-hair in a ponytail and wore a brown winter jacket, blue jeans and a pair of boots. She served as the teams "tech expert" and generally stayed off the field.

To his left sat Larry Garner, age 15, on a wooden box polishing his make shift batarang. He had short blonde hair, ocean blue eyes and wore a thicker assortment of winter clothing, a fatter dark purple jacket, than anyone else in the room, a pair of black gloves and brown boots. He was the teams "inventor" and was responsible for gathering and making much of their equipment.

Finally, there was Jason Todd, age 13, while he was the youngest of the group. He was the most passionate and physically the strongest whilst Dick was the fastest. He had short black hair, blue eyes and wore his trademark stolen bicker jacket which he thought made him look cooler and older, a white T-shirt, blue jeans and a pair of black shoes.

Dick (casual & joking): Looks like I'm late to the party.

Barbara (distant): Not by much thankfully. Larry and I just got here a few minutes ago.

Dick (casual & curious): So is there any reason in particular we're getting together so soon after agreeing to not meet up for a while?

Larry (serious): Jason here called Barb and told her he has a lead on the guy responsible for killing Bobby.

Dick (casual & friendly): Well don't keep us in suspense here.

Jason (excited): Something like that. Just promise you guys wont freak out okay? He wasnt too happy when I did it.

They all looked at him with a suspicious look on their faces.

Barbara (worried & curious): Who's "he"?

Batman emerged from the shadows behind Jason to everyone else's shock. Larry immediately got off the box and backed away while Barbara rolled back her chair to make some distance between them.

Larry gulped and slowly began raising his batarang in hopes of trying to attack. Batman immediately noticed this and scowled at the boy.

Batman (threatening): Try it if you want to end up in a wheel chair.

His voice sent chills down all their spines, except Jason who was to excited at the prospect of being next to his hero.

Larry (scared & nervous): S-sorry…. S-sir…

Dick (angry & yelling): What the hell is wrong with you Jason? How could you bring this guy to our base like this?! How do we do know this isn't the guy who killed Bobby pretending he's Batman?

Jason (excited & confident): Do your thing big guy.

Batman (thoughts & annoyed): Hn, kids. (serious & out loud): Dick Grayson. You and Jason first saw me three months after I first showed up in Gotham. It was 3AM, and the two of you almost got mugged near Crime Alley by a pair of drunken street thugs, one of whom was aiming a gun at your friends head. I disarmed the one with the pistol with a batarang and knocked them out by smashing their heads together.

Dick (shocked): Holy….

Batman (serious): Larry Garner. You saw me two months after Dick and Jason near the docks where you saw three of Falcones goons dropping a dead body in the ocean. It was 1AM, and they quickly noticed and cornered you near a street light. First I fire my grappling hook the leader's leg and left him hanging on the light and broke his buddies arms and legs right in front of you.

He turned to Barbara and stared down the frightened girl.

Batman (serious): Barbara Gordon, daughter of my associate Jim Gordon. While you and I have never met unlike the rest of your team. Your father has told me many times now how you've been pestering him about meeting me. You also keep calling him during his work shifts to make sure he's keeping his no smoking promise. And no he's not.

Barbara (pleased): I knew it!

Everyone in the room relaxed after the man standing among them turned out to be the real Batman.

Jason (cocky): Pretty cool huh? With Batman here things are gonn-

Batman (stern): You have 5 minutes to get your things out of here before I shut this place down.

Jim was halfway back to the station when he looked over to the seat next to him and noticed Diane had dropped her wallet. He took it in his hand and sighed as he turned the car around and drove right back to her home.

After an uneventful ride back he parked his car in the same spot as last time, entered her apartment building, and knocked on her door.

Jim (respectful): Miss Larroca? I'm sorry to disturb you, especially at a time like this, but you left your wallet in my car.

He knocked a few more times and placed his hand on the lock, noticing the door was open he decided to let himself in. A woman who just witnessed her son's death would hit, any person hard and Jim worried she might try to take her own life. He walked into the apartment and looked around before noticing blood on the floor and a bloody knife in the wall of the kitchen.

Jim pulled out his gun with his right hand and took his phone with his left. He dialed Harvey's phone number and whispered when his fellow officer answered.

Harvey (annoyed): Who the hells bugging me this late?!

Jim (serious & whisper): Harvey, look I'm at Diane Larroca's home on the south end of Park Row. There's blood all over the place, and the place is a mess. I think someone came in and possibly attacked her. Get down here this instant.

Harvey (serious): You got it Jimbo! The boys and me will be down there in a sec, just don't do anything stupid alright.

Jim (joking & whisper): No promises.

He put his phone back and placed both hands on his pistol. A trail of blood could be seen on the floor of the hallway and splitting into two directions. One lead to the bathroom while the other consisted of bloody boot marks leading into the deceased boy's room.

Jim leaned against the wall and slowly approached the bedroom. He took a deep breath and kicked the door open and got ready to ready to fire until he realized the room was empty but obviously vandalized with the bed being turned over, pages from various books being torn out and various pieces of clothing littered on the floor.

Jim (thoughts & tense): Nothing here.

He wiped away the sweat on his forehead and turned around to inspect the bathroom. Leaning against the wall, he kicked the door in, but the sight before him made his heart skip a beat.

Jim (thoughts & shocked): Oh my God….

The hands of Diane's lifeless body were bound together with duct tape, her legs were inside the filled bath tub and her face covered in cuts and bruises. The most noticeable thing was a large, red O carved into her chest. He put his gun back in its holster and immediately started untying her until he noticed a torn piece of paper on the bathtub.

He took the paper in his hands and noticed it was from the boy's journal.

Jim (tense): Owls Nest Tower….

He stood there for a moment to think about what this meant and gulped when he realized this was where the headquarters of the "Sons of Batman" was. Jim frantically took his phone out of his pocket and started dialing his partner's phone number.

Jim (frantic & nervous): Pick up the phone, pick up phone, pick up the goddamn phone!

Barbara (confused): When you say "shutting this place down" you mean...?

Batman (stern): Ending this childish power fantasy of yours before you anymore of you get killed.

Larry (nervous): B-but it's not power fantasy! Were just trying to do some good like you have... sir.

Batman (stern): Shutting down a few measly mob operations doesn't make you ready for this kind of life kid. Youd be better off making something out of yourselves and fixing this city another way.

Dick (annoyed): And what way is that? Like Gordon or Dent? C'mon man, you know better than any of us a couple decent guys can't do squat with guys like Falcone and Zucco running the show. Why else would you dress up like that and take things into your own hands?

Batman (serious): My method is only a temporary solution to the greater problem kid. I could keep beating people like them up and putting them in jail for the rest of my life and yet I wouldn't get anywhere. People like Gordon and Dent are the people you should aspire to be like, not me. Even in the face of corruption and violence they held to their beliefs and stayed decent men in times like these. You have three minutes left, I suggest you hurry up.

Jason (defensive): But you ca-

Batman (yell & angry): I SAID YOU'RE THROUGH! END OF DISCUSSION!

They all felt shivers go down their spines upon hearing his yell and promptly started to pack their things with disappointed expressions on their faces, except Dick who felt his blood boil at the lack of resolve from his team mates.

Barbara cautiously approached Batman and formed a nervous smile on her face.

Barbara (respectful & nervous): Just out of curiosity... is my dad going to find out about this?

Her only answer came in the form of a scowl from Batman to which she gulped in fear, nodded in understanding and moved away to pack her computer.

Dick (mad): I cant believe you guys! Youre just going to let this guy come in here and tell us what we can and cant do?!

Jason (defensive): Well he **is **Batman, and since were kinda copying him I think he can.

Dick (mad): I don't care if he's really Superman under that mask and he can throw me into the sun. I'm not gonna let him push me around.

Batman (threatening): Tread carefully kid.

Dick (furious): And stop calling me a kid! I haven't been a kid since I watched my parents die right in front of me all those years ago! And for the first time since that night I can finally get payback on the guy who murdered them, if you think some Clint Eastwood voice and a high-tech Dracula costume are gonna scare me you have another thi-

His sentence was cut short when a load gunshot echoed from across the street followed by glass shattering, Batman immediately activated the sonar in his cowls lenses and looked at the surrounding area. His eyes widened in shock upon noticing Onomatopoeia crouching behind a small stone wall with a sniper riffle on his hands.

Batman (thoughts): Damn it! He's already found us?! (out loud): All of you get over here now!

Activating the jamming device built into his belt he eliminated the risk of Onomatopoeia possibly using a sonar scope similar to the one his lenses operated on. He then tossed two smoke pellets on to the ground and watched as the teenagers all came to him as fast as they could.

Jason (weak): B-batman...

The boy reached out to his hero while clenching the gun shot wound in his belly with tears streaming down his face.

Batman (worried & thoughts): No...

Jason (weak): H-help... m-me...

**TBC...**


End file.
